


The Best Day Ever

by CatrinaSL



Series: A Simple Device [92]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bonus Romanogers, Coffee, F/M, Fangirl Darcy, Firefly References, Natasha's Thighs of Doom, SHIP DARCY WITH ALL THE THINGS, Shirtless clint, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Sparring, Touring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-08-06
Packaged: 2018-07-29 09:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7678927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatrinaSL/pseuds/CatrinaSL
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint waits for the best day ever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Best Day Ever

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Orkneyinga](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orkneyinga/gifts).



> Words provided by Orkneyinga.
> 
> Soulmate AU Reminder: Everyone has a Soulmark, a tattoo of the first words their Soulmate will say to them. Showing someone else your Soulmark is like baring your soul to them, so most people only show their Soulmate or very trusted friends.

The day Clint Barton met Natasha Romanov was not the best day ever. 

Because of this he knew that she was not his romantic Soulmate (the neatly printed “Ma’am” on her side the final piece of evidence), but over the years they decided that they were platonic Soulmates, Words or no.

Natasha did all the razzing whenever he tried to draw out his Soulmate. Clint called it “leaving Fate an opening;” Natasha called it “a stupid pick-up line. You should really stop doing that, you’re just making a fool of yourself.”

“Nice day, isn’t it?” he asked Agent 31 on their first meeting.

She took one look at the sky and informed him, “It’s raining.”

Natasha rolled with laughter.

Melinda May got, “How has your day been going?”

Clint received only a glare in reply. 

Natasha cried, “I told you so!” (When she did finally speak to him, about eight months later, it was: “Get out of my way, Barton.”)

The final straw was when Clint screwed up his courage to wish Victoria Hand a good morning.

She thought he was an intern and gave him her coffee order without even looking up.

Natasha shrugged. “I guess today’s just not your best day ever,” she told him with a grin.

* * *

"This is the worst day ever."

Darcy knew that Jane was rolling her eyes and sighing, even though she couldn't see it.

"Seriously!" Darcy insisted. "Why are we here touring S.H.I.E.L.D. facility when we could be eating fish and chips at your mom's house in London? Erik said it was  _ important _ , Jane, and I'm not sure if you remember or not, but these guys stole all your stuff!" She paused in her rant to cross her arms over her chest. "If they don't give my iPod back at the end of this thing, this really is the worst day ever."

"Doctor Foster!"

Darcy turned to see a man waving in their direction from the other end of a long hallway. Jane waved back, and he jogged up to meet them.

It was Captain America.

"This is the best day ever," Darcy said immediately.

"Doctor Foster?"

"Yes," Jane said, leaning out to shake his hand.

"I'm—" he began.

But Darcy interrupted: "—the Star Spangled Man with a  _ Plan _ !"

He laughed bashfully. "Ah, yes. I'm... they're not quite ready for you in the labs yet, so I'm supposed to show you around a little."

Darcy shook her head. "Sending the eye candy to do a tour guide's job?" she said, linking her arm through his. "I guarantee you Jane doesn't care if the place is messy. She's just here for the science. Hey, are there any other Avengers around?"

Captain America shot a look at Jane. "This is Darcy Lewis, my very unpaid intern," Jane told him, then gave Darcy a look that said, 'Unfortunately, that means I can't fire her.' 

Darcy grinned back, very toothily communicating, 'you know you love me.'

"Well, uh, obviously Mr. Stark and Doctor Banner are in New York, and, uh..." He glanced at Jane awkwardly. "Thor is... he left after the battle."

Jane looked away, but Darcy tugged on his arm. "She's not going to ask, but she super wants to know if he asked about her at all."

Captain America looked over at Jane before answering. "I know he was happy to hear that you were in a safe place," he offered.

This was not what Jane wanted to hear, so Darcy loudly changed the subject. "So about those other Avengers...?"

He smiled. "I think I can scrounge a couple up."

"Awesome. Let's do this, Captain Tightpants."

Letting out a laugh, he said, “You can just call me Steve.”

Captain America showed them around: a mission control center, a ridiculously impressive cafeteria, a plushly carpeted area that was all executive offices, and finally they ended up in R&D, where they lost Jane. Science types rushed around, upset that she'd showed up too soon, but Steve shrugged apologetically.

"There has been a decided lack of Other Avengers on this tour," Darcy pointed out after promising to go find some coffee for Jane. "I'm definitely complaining to the manager."

"Believe it or not, I've been looking for them this whole time," he assured her. "It's been less of a tour and more of a Soulmate hunt."

Darcy blinked at him. "Soulmate hunt?" she repeated.

He pushed back his sleeve as though he were going to check the time and showed her a small word on his wrist instead: 'Hi,' it said.

"They're probably around here somewhere," he told her.

"Wait, oh my god, are you... is your Soulmate the Black Widow?! That is so rad!"

Steve smiled shyly. "It is," he agreed. "I've got one last place we could check. How do you feel about the gym?"

"The gym and I don't usually get along," she confided. "But seeing your Soulmate kick ass in person sounds like the coolest thing ever!"

His shyness slid away and he grinned. "It is," he assured her, and led her downstairs to the gym.

It was even better than Darcy could have imagined.

First of all, watching the Black Widow in action was like a dream come true. Her opponent seemed to be anticipating her moves, but despite that, he was unable to stop them.

Darcy gasped aloud as she leaped into the air and wrapped her legs around his head, twisting until they both toppled to the ground.

The loser of the bout groaned, and tapped the Black Widow's leg. She laughed and stood up, noticing Darcy standing with Captain America at the door.

"Steve," she greeted, smiling up at him. "What brings you here?"

"Tour guide duty," he replied. "This is Doctor Foster's assistant, Darcy Lewis. She wanted to see some Avengers."

Darcy's eyes widened as the Black Widow held out her hand for Darcy to shake. "I'm Natasha," she said.

"Oh my god," Darcy breathed, shaking her idol's hand. "You probably get people falling all over you all the time, so you probably hate it, but I'm totally not gonna be cool, sorry. You are  _ so awesome _ ! Like, I knew you were before I saw you kick that guy's butt, but in person, it's like, you're so much cooler than I thought, so I'm just going to geek out in front of you if that's okay, and later when I tell Jane about this I'll leave out the part where I couldn't stop talking and basically held your hand the whole time."

Natasha laughed as Darcy let go of her hand. "It's fine," she said. "You're welcome to come watch us spar whenever you like."

"Seriously? That would be... amazing. Won't your friend get tired of getting beat up, though?"

Natasha's sparring partner sighed as he pulled his shirt off, turning to give Darcy a wry smile. "I'm happy to be of service."

"This is Clint Barton," Captain America informed her. "Also known as Hawkeye."

Darcy's eyes widened as she stared at him.

He grabbed a bottle of water and downed it, then raised his eyebrow when he found she was still looking at him.

"This is the best day ever," Darcy said to his shirtless chest.

* * *

Clint's eyes flicked between Natasha and Darcy, then Steve and Darcy.

He pointed at her and asked Nat, "Is this a prank?"

Natasha looked amused, but shook her head. "I think it's just a fateful meeting."

Then his Soulmate said, "Coffee."

This got his attention. "Coffee?"

"I have to get coffee for Jane. And then we can get coffee. Soulmate Coffee." She hadn't stopped staring at him. 

Clint stared back. "Coffee sounds great."

**Author's Note:**

> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/148539759928/the-best-day-ever)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)


End file.
